A Stray Child
by autarkeia
Summary: RH: Memories of one's past can alter or affect one's future. But for Relena Peacecraft, does the loss of her memories mean the loss of her future and the one she dreams of creating?
1. A Stray Child

A/N: As much as I love my Mac, I sometimes have to wonder if it deliberately screws me over just to prove it can. After accidentally deleting my files, I am once again attempting to rewrite what was lost. Therefore, I hope you enjoy this slightly revised version of "A Stray Child," whose previous title I've now forgotten. I do not own these characters, and have simply borrowed them for your reading pleasure. Please don't forget to review!

_Entry 100499: I have often wondered how others see me. Am I merely a tool for achieving our means, or can others separate the person from the name? What of he who watches from the distance? How do I affect him?_

**one: a stray child**

She couldn't remember...

Anything.

Though she searched for her memories, anything that might reveal her identity, the only things she could remember were events that just recently happened. Like...

_She had passed this corner before._

And try as she might, she could not recall even the simplest of things...

Not even her name.

God, how pathetic.

She was starting to sound like one of those tragic heroines, so bothered by the little things they couldn't see the monster looming in the shadows, waiting to devour them.

Wait.

Why did that sound familiar?

Her forehead creased in concentration, she tried again to recall something from her past. For instance, what was her favorite color? Pink? Somehow that didn't sound quite right, though a hideous pink limousine did come to mind.

Perhaps, she **had** lost her mind.

And yet, in spite of these discrepancies in her memory, she could remember what year it was.

After colony 200.

She took a few unsteady steps forward, her head still fuzzy and disoriented from whatever ordeal she had escaped from, **if** she had indeed made an escape. Maybe it had been some boring political function, she thought with a small grin. But her smile quickly dimmed as the impact of her words sank in.

Boring political function?

Somehow, that didn't seem as implausible as it should have. But why?

Clutching her head, she heard a deep, male voice whispering something.

_**Escaping the ball, Cinderella? You know I'll find you in the end.**_

The young woman shook her head in confusion. A fairy-tale princess who had run away, leaving only a glass slipper behind?

_**I'll find you, Princess. Never doubt that.**_

This had to stop. These thoughts, these voices, whatever they were, whomever they belonged to—they **hurt**. Clenching her hands into tight fists, the young amnesiac woman pounded them gently against her temples in hopes of stifling the voices that resided within. But it was to no avail and hot tears of pain and humiliation ran down her cheeks as she was forced to listen to their hurtful comments over and over again.

_**I will kill you myself when the time comes. Until them, no one else may touch you. Do you understand that?**_

The young woman suddenly broke into a fast sprint, her paces frenzied and chaotic, her current state of mind unbalanced by images of a dark, horned demon with a raised scythe set to strike at any moment.

If she kept running, perhaps she could escape.

But from whom?

"Dammit! Where could she have gone? I leave you alone with her for a short while and not only do you manage to lose her, you also lose our one link to the Heart of the Universe! How can you be so stupid?"

"I'm s-sorry, Lord Aku. I-I didn't mean to. But she looked so sad when she asked for a g-glass of water, I didn't think she'd try to escape after so m-much time had passed."

"That's right...you **didn't** think." Aku's lips curved upwards in delight and bloodlust shone brightly in his blue eyes, turning them the color of dark sapphire.

The pasty-faced creature cowering before the one known as Aku collapsed suddenly the to floor, unable to stare any longer into his master's eyes. He had displeased Lord Aku and betrayed his confidence, which was more than he could bear. Prostrating himself before his master, the servant prayed for a swift death, that he might still keep some semblance of dignity and honor, but it was to no avail. Aku bent down and grabbed tightly his servant's scalp, so that he who had betrayed him might see the undisguised contempt that Aku had for him and remember it in his afterlife. Raising the sharpened blade he kept close to his body always, Aku made a quick slicing motion, and watched as the body of his once-trusted servant sank to the floor.

Tossing the decapitated head off to one side, Aku turned around to face a large monitor mounted to the wall.

"Now, little princess...where could you have run off to?"

Aku punched in a series of what looked to be gibberish but instead activated a large grid that was immediately followed by a flashing red dot, indicating that some sort of tracking device had been activated. Following the red dot's movements, Aku chuckled softly to himself.

"There's nowhere you can hide where I can't find you, Princess. Don't you know that by now?"

No Name.

It was a really poor excuse for a name if she truly thought about it, but somehow the name (or lack thereof) was comforting and had a familiar ring to it. Perhaps it had been a stage name she had used before?

Whatever the case, it was enough to give her some sense of identity.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

No, it **was** enough for now; enough to comfort her and act as a defense against the faceless voices that threatened what little sanity she had left. A resolute look on her face, No Name ignored the snide laughter echoing in the deepest recesses of her mind and continued walking. North, south, it really didn't matter, just so long as she got further and further away from Him.

But who exactly was He?

Was He the one who called her "Cinderella," the one she couldn't run away from?

A sudden pang struck her, as if she were close to remembering something her subconscious didn't want her to remember. Stubbornly, she forced herself to imagine who this mystery man could be, but all she could recall was a dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes so cold and empty-looking, she instantly recoiled in fear.

Maybe her subconscious knew what it was doing, she thought as she murmured a small apology. Oh god, now she **knew** she was crazy. Next thing she knew, those little old men with the white jackets would come to cart her away.

"Out of my way, woman."

A flash of white caught her eye.

Oh god, how could they have known so soon? **She** had barely come to terms with her own insanity!

Screaming in fright, she whirled around and blindly ran in the opposite direction.

"Now what do you suppose **that** was about?" a voluptuous blonde asked, her hair twisted tightly together to form two pigtails around the sides of her face. "Do you think she might have recognized us?"

"I haven't the slightest idea, but I suspect the woman's crazy from the look of her," the woman's black-haired companion replied, his eyes narrowing slightly as he followed the brunette's retreating form. "After all, did you see the crazed look in her eyes? Who screams at a Gundam pilot in this day and age?"

"She's been missing for a year now! How can a person with a face as well-known as hers just disappear off the face of the universe?" the current prince of the Sanq Kingdom yelled as he stomped around the palace's impressive library, its soothing atmosphere doing nothing to calm him from his swiftly rising fury.

The young soldier, just barely out of training, cleared his throat nervously before replying, "I don't know, sir. The Preventers have done everything in their power to find Princess Relena, but it's as if she never existed in the first place."

Before the unsuspecting youth could be blasted for his poorly chosen words, a dark-eyed brunette in his early twenties appeared at the door and with a brief glance dismissed (and possibly saved) the foolish young soldier rather than letting the already irate prince inflict any permanent damage upon him.

"You didn't have to excuse him, you know. I wouldn't have killed him at all, just...maim him. A lot."

The man's lips twisted sardonically. "He isn't so bad once you get to know him. Just impulsive and slightly too eager for his own good, like someone else I used to know."

"Or someone else you used to be."

The brunette bowed imperceptibly, accepting the comment as truth, before continuing. "Zechs, I—**we** are doing all we can to find Relena but as of yet, there are no leads to her whereabouts or even how she was kidnapped in the first place. We've combed every inch of her rooms but found no signs of a forced entry or even a struggle. Whoever the bastard was, he was someone we all knew and trusted."

"Dammit! To what use are the Preventers then if they can't even prevent things like this from happening? Relena's been missing for a year now...there's no telling what kind of harm can come to her!"

Zechs was really upset today, more so than usual, the brown-haired man noted with mild interest. Mentally running through several scenarios that could explain the prince's distress, he neglected to react when the prince misdirected his anger toward him.

"And **you**! You were supposed to be guarding Relena! Fine job **you** did of protecting her!" Zechs' voice trailed off as he realized the impact of his words.

"Heero, I apologize. I know that you c—"

Heero shook his head, dismissing the apology as unnecessary. The look in his Prussian blue eyes told Zechs all he needed to know, however, and the prince hastened to assure him that Relena's disappearance was not his fault. Yet although Heero's demeanor remained relaxed, those who knew the dark-haired man could tell by the small frown that courted his handsome features that he was just as upset as Zechs was by Relena's sudden and lengthy disappearance.

_I failed her. Failed in my mission to protect her ideals, her dreams. But how?_

Zechs' request interrupted his guilt-filled thoughts. _Did I just hear correctly?_ For a split second, neither person moved until the silver-haired prince spoke again.

"Heero, I know this is asking a lot of you, especially since you're busy with all those other missions Lady Une keeps insisting on giving to you. But..." he spoke slowly and uncertainly, reluctant to ask this favor but knowing it was the right thing to do, given the strong feelings both he and Heero had for his baby sister. "I'd like for you to be in charge of finding Relena. From here on out, all and any missions previously appointed to you will be transferred to someone else. I want your full attention on this case only, is that clear, Heero?"

Though it had been issued as a command, Heero heard the pleading behind Zechs' request and understanding dawned on him. Zechs still didn't trust him not to hurt Relena, in spite of the fact that he'd never attempted to, but he was willing and desperate enough to give him a chance.

Meeting his commander's steely-eyed gaze, Heero nodded grimly and accepted the documents Zechs held out to him.

"Mission accepted."

Brown hair.

She had **brown** hair.

Rubbing the offending lock of hair she held between her forefinger and thumb, No Name stared back at the face in the mirror, wondering why her reflection looked so...**foreign**.

With clinical detachment, she took note of the smooth, flawless complexion, the clear, violet-blue eyes, and the full, bow-shaped mouth that seemed more inclined to smile than it was to frown.

No, it wasn't that she was ugly. Indeed, if No Name weren't so disturbed by what she saw in the mirror, she'd have to say that she was quite pretty, beautiful, in fact. But still...

Why did it feel like there was something wrong with this picture?

"Something wrong, dearie?"

Startled, No Name shifted her eyes to the woman standing at the sink next to her and shook her head in mute bewilderment. With a shrug, the woman smiled reassuringly and left, leaving No Name alone once again.

Brown hair.

But how?

Zechs had been right, Heero reflected as he shuffled through the massive piles of paperwork that covered his desk. It **was** his fault for not protecting Relena and for not finding her yet. Today, exactly one year ago, Relena had disappeared from her bedroom while Heero had been out performing a routine check-up.

"_Sir, there's something in the west end that you should see!"_

"_Colonel Yuy, report immediately! I repeat, Colonel Yuy, report to palace security headquarters immediately!"_

"_**Relena**!"_

Gripping his head in his hands, Heero sighed, running his fingers through his already mussed-up hair and causing the ends the stand up even more. Try as he might (and he hadn't tried very hard), Heero could not rid himself of the nagging guilt that had become a constant bedfellow since the night of Relena's disappearance.

A soft beep, then a whirring noise, diverted his preoccupied thoughts and alerted him to an incoming fax. Picking it up, Heero scanned its contents briefly, the message already being memorized and filed away for later use. Shredding the paper into neat little pieces, Heero headed toward the door, a feral gleam in his eyes.

The hunt had begun.

A/N: To preserve continuity of this story's format, does anyone know how to add section breaks so that they appear across the entire screen and not just in the center of it?


	2. Ignorance Is Bliss

A/N: Standard disclaimers apply. Thanks so much for the kind and encouraging reviews! Hopefully, this chapter will be enjoyed just as much. Um, to answer a question posed by WolfCry17...I was always under the impression that Relena's hair was blond, but I have read stories describing her as a brunette as well, so it's kind of difficult to say which hair color is more accurate. However, for the purpose of this story, Relena was a blonde but is now a brunette. Hope this helps and that you guys continue reviewing. Enjoy!

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_Entry 210599: I have noticed he does not like having his picture taken, even if it's for identification purposes, and so his request for permission to leave from today's photography session was not entirely unexpected. But these photographs are kept for security purposes, and serve as reminders of our past, and I'm concerned by his seeming inability to grasp the sense of how important one's past can be to those with and without one._

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**two: ignorance is bliss**

"Hey missy! Missy! You wanna buy sum special potions, yah? Make him fall fer you, kay? Or mebbe get dis purty glass dinghy? Fer you, I give special deal...everyting half off! Hey missy!"

The shopkeeper's harsh cries were impossible to ignore and her wares **did** look interesting. The amnesiac brunette meandered toward the small wooden stall and smiled warmly at the seller's enthusiastic response.

"Hello. I couldn't help but notice that you're selling potions. Um, do you perhaps have something for bad memories?"

The old woman looked at her customer with calculating eyes. The woman's Italian shoes were handmade and her clothes woven from the finest silks; there was no doubt about it—this was one rich goose just begging to be plucked clean.

But the eyes...it was the eyes that made her stop and reconsider. They were warm and friendly and didn't look at her with the contempt or condescension she was used to seeing. Clearing her throat, she dropped her "ignorant seller" act and met the younger woman's eyes.

"Is there something you wish to forget?"

No Name looked at the shopkeeper curiously before idly picking up a beautifully detailed ceramic sculpture of a Chinese dragon that managed to appear both fierce and proud, holding a snow globe made of frosted crystal. Shaking it gently, she watched as the tiny white flecks swirled around inside before settling once again to the bottom.

"We-ell, I'm not quite sure anymore. The only things I **am** sure about don't make any sense at all." No Name laughed suddenly and gently placed the sculpture back onto the table. "That sounds silly, doesn't it? But you see, I can't quite remember who I am or even if I'm real!"

No Name stared into the old woman's pale eyes and saw her reflection staring back at her, and suddenly, she felt...safe. Strangely enough, the need to run wasn't as strong anymore, probably because she had run far enough and long enough to escape from Him. Her smile widened and laughter began to bubble forth from her lips, but whether it was from relief or hysteria, No Name refused to decide because for the first time in what she felt was a long time, she was **safe**.

"I don't have any magical potions for you, sweetie, but since I've got a couple of years on you, let an old woman offer a few words of advice. The path you are now on will offer nothing but misery and a lifetime's worth of doubt. But once you've reached your journey's end, you will know your life's purpose, which I assure you will be worth everything in the world."

No Name smiled at the woman's words and wished there was some way to thank her. Patting her pockets, she was unsurprised at what little she found, but suddenly remembered the delicate gold chain that hung around her neck. Reaching behind her, No Name unhooked the tiny clasp and handed it to the older woman, slightly taken aback when the shopkeeper refused and pushed her gift away.

"Just remember this... The obstacles you face and the memories you create from this point on, no matter how much **you** may doubt them, **they** are the things that assure your existence is important."

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The blinking red dot began to move across the screen again. Eyeing its progression, Aku leaned back into the high-backed leather chair, fingers steepled just below his chin, and smiled happily.

"Even without her memories, she instinctively runs toward him...and the Heart of the Universe."

A steaming cup of herbal tea appeared before him, and the flowery scent of chrysanthemum wafted up to his nose. Turning, Aku saw 01, his new manservant, quickly shift his eyes to avoid his master's stare and swiftly scurry out the room. Chuckling softly to himself, he delicately picked up the lacquered teacup and blew gently, relishing not only the tea but also the fact that he was one step closer to claiming his prize. Humming in a low tenor voice, Aku looked up at the computer's screen once again and took a sip...

Only to have it spew out of his mouth.

"**What**?!"

The blinking red dot had disappeared.

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She was running again. But this time, her running was not the mindless, frenetic kind she had indulged in earlier before. This time, she was running toward something, or to be more precise, toward **someone**.

After speaking to the old woman, No Name had learned of a man, of the professional soldier who never failed at anything...

A man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes...

The man she had remembered from before.

No Name had blinked once, twice, as the crafty old shopkeeper plucked something off her. When she had looked down, No Name saw that the old woman held a small microchip in the palm of her wrinkly, age-spotted hand. Even now, the perplexity remained.

"A—a tracking device? Who on earth would be following me?"

An enigmatic look had entered the old woman's milky blue eyes, which had surely once sparkled with youth and enchanted those looking into them. Averting her gaze from No Name's apprehensive face, the old woman clutched the small device so tightly, it left a small square-shaped imprint on the palm of her hand, before she dropped it to the floor and crushed it beneath her heel.

"In spite of your amnesia, or perhaps because of it, you must be important. **Very important**. And if you are, which I suspect is the truth, then that means you must be protected at all costs. So tell me, dear one, what do you plan to do now?"

No Name had been unable to answer, confused about the tracking device and more importantly, herself. What **would** she do now? Why was this happening, when she was still searching for the answers to her questions?

"Get yourself a bodyguard, a person who can protect you from anything... even ghosts. The person with the life that never runs out..."

"His name is Heero. Heero Yuy." She repeated his name softly, almost reverently, relishing the sound of a name, a **real** name with an actual face.

Unlike herself.

No Name slowed her run to a brisk, steady walk and pulled out the faded, wrinkled photo the old woman had held out for her to see. Although this would be only her second time seeing him, there was something about this man that intrigued her, made her curious about what went on behind the solemn, emotionless expression his face held. Tracing the lines of the eyes that fascinated her to an almost **unhealthy** degree, No Name was oddly comforted by the sense of familiarity she felt as she looked into his deep blue eyes.

**Blue** eyes?

**Piercing** blue eyes?

Could this man really be the same shadowy figure that flirted inside her head, taunting her in his dark, velvety voice?

_**You can't be so idealistic and trusting. There are bad people out there, people who wouldn't hesitate to gobble up a foolish little girl like you...**_

No Name laughed out loud. Somehow, the voice and words seemed to suit the image of the man whose picture she held. Tucking the photo back into the pocket of her now wrinkled ice blue silk suit, No Name reflected on her next course of action.

The shopkeeper had insinuated that finding the elusive and mysterious Heero Yuy was as impossible as achieving universal peace and that, more often than not, a person was likely to run across him when one's desire to avoid him was the greatest. But, she had added with a sly smile, No Name's best chance of finding Heero would be within the Sanq Kingdom, which lay north of her present location.

No Name pulled the picture from her pocket yet again, staring down at the handsome face, disturbed by the degree of her fascination with this seemingly paradoxical creature. Why was the shopkeeper so certain that this man, this Heero Yuy, would respond positively to her request for protection? From the fragments of information she had managed to glean from her conversation with the old woman, No Name believed that Yuy might be the type who thought only of fulfilling his duties as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

That being the case, how much time would pass before Heero Yuy grew tired of his responsibility? A woman such as herself, one with a faulty memory and voices that spoke to her from inside her head, would surely take up a great deal of his time and patience.

What if, one day, he left her behind under the guise of "protecting" her?

And what if she was to follow, only to discover he was never returning?

No Name hastily jammed the picture back into her pocket, her cheeks flushed with shame. She didn't know the man and yet here she was, judging him based on his picture!

But since it was all she had of the man, surely her concerns were valid? After all, if her fears were to be later confirmed as truth, by then it would be too late, and she would already have been led down the path to a quicker destruction, rather than the redemption she now sought.

And when one such as her could only dwell in the present without the shadows of the past to corrupt and influence her actions now, surely she was making the right decision in not seeking out this Heero Yuy.

Wasn't she?


End file.
